We chatted a bit today about basic content elements that every designer will use for their photoshop mockup for the redesign for August of 2009. I thought I'd start a thread to discuss exactly what elements should go in there (specific text and/or graphics aren't a major concern right now, just the pieces themselves).

In going through the style book and the current look of the page, these are the elements that I think will be essential. Feel free to discuss additions or subtractions.

I'd agree with you on the subhead. I think it works as a marketing device (in most cases), but it adds unnecessary height to that area "above the fold" - screen real estate that could be used to convey more valuable information.

The use of subhead in forthcoming designs could simply be optional. If someone comes up with an elegant way to keep it (and everyone agrees on it), then it stays. If the most popular design instead chooses to leave it out, then it will become one of those elements that is deprecated in August of 09.

I somehow missed college navigation when I was doing my original list. Because this is something that some sites use, the new design should certainly figure that in as a design element. I've edited my original post to include it.

Remember that anyone using College Nav will see no benefit anyway from doing away with the H2.

Again, I think that this will completely depend on the design. If the future design is something closer to a refinement, then you're probably correct. If it's more of a redesign, though, I have no idea where those elements will end up and which space they'll occupy in a new look.

Let's keep separate issues separate. There's a whole discussion related to subheads or any of the content elements that is related to, but not entirely enmeshed with, visual design.

Content and style must be separate in our thinking as well as in our code. The visual design shouldn't dictate any decisions on removing or retaining a piece of content. Sure, the chosen visual style can be influential in the decisionmaking on whether to remove or retain a content element, but design doesn't drive decisions on content. The design will evolve between the day it is chosen and the time it's deployed in August, and some of that evolution will be a result of what discussions we have on modifications to the Style Guide.

As a matter of design, I think that every content element we currently have in the HTML should be accommodated in the 'redesign' candidates. I'd prefer to see any calls for deprecation of a content element be discussed as issues apart from an 'omnibus' design decision.

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Robert J Crisler
Manager, Internet and Interactive Media
University Communications
321 Canfield Administration Building
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
402-472-9878